Machine foe making ornamental wire



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L. KOSS. MACHINE FOR MAKING ORNAMENTAL WIRE.

No. 488,941. Patented Dec. 27,1892.

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v MACHINE FOR MAKING ORNAMENTAL WIRE. N0.488,941. Patented Dec. 27,1892.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3,

L. KOSS. MACHINE FOR MAKING ORNAMENTAL WIRE. No. 488,941. Patented Dec.27, 1892.

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L. KOSS. MACHINE FOR MAKING ORNAMENTAL WIRE.

No. 488,941. Patented Dec. 27, 1892.

Zif/ihamew; [iv/11625102, 925W 032W BiXWMW UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

LOUIS KOSS, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

MACHINE FOR MAKING ORNAMENTAL WIRE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 488,941, dated December27, 1892.

Application filed September l1 1891. Serial No. 405,380. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LOUIS KOSS, a citizen of the United States, residingat Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Bending\Vire; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for making ornamentalwire of a kind in which a single central continuous strand or wire isused with a separate wire formed into a pattern and bent around it.

The object of this invention is to providea machine that will produce anornamental wire fabric composed of two strands, in one continuousoperation, and that will be automatic in its Working and rapid. Iaccomplish these objects by the mechanism illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a machine constructed inaccordance with my invention. Parts of the machine are broken away tobetter illustrate the construction. Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of themachine, the reel for supplying the wire not being shown. Fig. 3 is aview in vertical cross section of the machine on the line X-Y of Fig. 2,looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4 is a detail in sideelevation of the drum or roller having the radial pins. The figure alsoshows thelever by which the pins are elevated. Fig. 5 is a detail incross section of the crank arm F (Fig. 6) taken on a line central withrelation to the vertical pin G and is intended to illustrate the methodof securing and operating the pin. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of thehead in which the pins or fingers for bending the smaller wire into azig zag pattern are located. The double crank shaft is shown in itsproper position in the head. Fig. 7 is an under side view of the slideand fingers for holding the bend in the wire after the ornamentalpattern has been formed. Fig. 8 represents the complete wire as made bythis machine. Fig. 9 is adiagram to illustrate the operation of bendingthe ornamental wire into a zig zag pattern. Figs. 10 and 11 representthe mechanism for securing an adjustable opening for the wire throughthe drum T. The opening in Fig. 10 is shown contracted, and in Fig. 11the opening is shown enlarged. Fig. 12 illustrates the opening throughthe drum T for the passage of the Wire and also shows the constructionof the dog for engaging the loops on the wires in bending the twostrands of the wire together. The same construction of dog is used onboth drums. Fig. 13 is a detail showing the plate P and the face of theroller with the grooves in each for the lower wire X. Fig. 14 is adetail par tially in section of the roller and arms and shows thefingers that actuate the radial pins in said roller. Fig. 15, is anunder side view of the plate P and shows the longitudinal groove throughwhich the central wire passes.

A represents the large driving shaft to which power is applied by beltsconnecting with the pulleys a; or, if preferred, a crank may be used inplace of a pulley and hand power substituted.

A are journal boxes for the shattA and are bolted to the under side ofthe bed plate of the machine.

B is the bed plate of the machine and is supported upon the legs Bforming therewith the framework to which the other parts are secured.

C is a beveled gear wheel secured to the end of the shaftA and meshingwith a corresponding bevel wheel 0 on the lower end of the verticalshaft D,which shaft is journaled in a vertical boxing supported by thebracket D, and bolted to the side of the bedplate.

Keyed to the upper end of the shaft D is a crank wheel D and D is aV-shaped groove extending centrally in a horizontal direction across thewheel D This groove is adapted to receive a correspondingly V'-shapedhead on the crank pin D which maybe adjusted within the groove toregulate the length of the stroke of the arm D connected to said crankpin. The opposite end of the arm D is pivotally secured to the head E.This head is pivotally secured by means of the vertical pin or bolt Ebetween the plates e and e the pin E passing through the head and beingsecured at each end to the plates 0 and e On the side of the headopposite the arm D is an extension E with a vertical hole extendedthrough it to receive the vertical shaft end of the arm F and isattached at its opposite end to a stationary standard h secured byabracket 71 to the casing D. On the outer end of the lower cranked arm Fis a vertical pin G having vertical adjustment controlled by the spring9 on the upper extension of the pin as clearly shown in the drawings,see Fig. 6.

I, Fig. 1, is a lever pivotally secured to brackets I, bolted to theunder side of the bed plate,and projected downwardly as shown, tosupport the lever. I is an eccentric keyed to the shaft A, and 1 aneccentric head on the upper end of the arm I. This arm is journaled at Ito the lever I and forms the mechanism by which an oscillating movementis transmitted from the driving shaft A, to the lever I.

J is a connecting rod pivotally secured at its lower end to the lever Iand is indirectly secured at its upper end to the horizontal shaft K bymeans of the intermediate crankarm j. To the opposite end of the crankpin 70, a pawl J is secured and works in notches on a wheel K The wheelK is keyed to the outer end of the shaft K and a uniform intermittentmovement is transmitted through the pawl and the rod J to the wheel andshaft from the lever I.

M, Fig. 4, is a roller keyed to the shaft K. It is provided withcircular grooves M on each of its sides and has a double series of holesextending radially from the face of the roller to the grooves M. Theseholes instead of being directly opposite to each other in both series,are so arranged that their positions alternate, for the purposeshereinafter fully explained. Short steel pins M are loosely inserted ineach of these holes and will slide in and out freely by their ownweight. The portions of the groove M nearest the axle, are shallowerthan the part on the outside, and the series of holes are so placed thatthe shallow portion of thegroove M will cover part of the openings ofthese holes and will act as stops for the pins, preventing the latterfrom dropping more than a certain distance down into the groove. (SeeFig. 14.)

N is a casing which envelops the face of the roller with the exceptionof a limited portion at the top which is left exposed. The object ofthis casing is to keep the pins from dropping out of the holes when theyare inverted by the revolution of the roller.

O is a bifurcated lever pivotally secured at O to the casing N; one ofthe arms of the bifurcated lever is extended on each side of the casingand terminates opposite the center of the roller in fingers O which areprojected inwardly so as to enter the circular groove M on each side ofthe roller. By raising the lever O, the fingers 0 will force the pins Mup until their ends project above the face of the roller and in sodoing, come in contact with the lower ends of the pins G and G forcingup the pins Gand G fo'rpurposes which will be more fully describedhereinafter. The movement of the lever O is controlled from the maindriving shaft A by means of an arm 0 pivotally secured to the outer endof the lever O and pressing at its lower end against a cam O keyed tothe shaft A.

O is a spring, connecting the arm 0 with the bed plate and holds thelower end firmly against the cam and also gives a quick movement to thelever O enabling it to throw the pins out with greater force.

P and P are horizontal plates arranged on a line tangent with the top ofthe roller and are secured to the casing N. A longitudinal groovebetween the plate P and casing is formed, and through this groove thecentral wireX is inserted. Acircuniferential groove is formed in theroller to allow the Wire to pass unobstructed over the roller.

The wire X from which the ornamental pattern is made is fed over theupper side of the plates P and P.

The operation of bending the Wire X into a zigzag pattern (as shown inFig. 9) preparatory to bending it upon and around the central wire X isaccomplished by means of the fingers G and G2 and to start the bendahook formed by hand on the end of the wire, is caught over the pin M onthe opposite side of the roller. In the operation of bending the wirethe fingers are moved in the direction of the arrows (see Fig. 9) intothe position shown by the dotted lines. The principle on which thesepins operate to form the bend in the wire, is that of the application oftwo points of resistance upon one side of the wire and a singleintermediate point on the opposite side and moving in the direction ofthe wire. This operation crimps or bends the wire at proper intervalsand by repeating the operation a zigzag pattern is formed. As the bendsare made one at a time it is necessary tohold them securely to keep thestrain required to make the next bend from distorting them. As soon as abend is made the pins M will be forced up by the fingers O and will takethe place of the pins G'and G raising the latter and allowing them to bemoved back into their original positions for a new bend. As thesuccessive bends are made they are thus first held by the pins M whichare withdrawn by the revolution of the roller, and the bend will then beretained by a series of fingers Q (see Fig. 7) corresponding in shape tothe bend made in the wire. The fingers are given a reciprocatingmovement so as to be inserted between the finished loops, and are shapedso as to fill the spaces between the loops, and will hold them from dis-ICC tortion while the next succeeding loops are being formed. Thefingers will be withdrawn to allow the zig zag wires to move forwardthrough the machine as the new loops are formed. The fingers and thewires operate between parallel plates which serve to preventdisplacement of the wire and fingers as will be more fully described.After the wire is bent in the zig zag pattern it is passed between theplates P and e which are so ad justed that the space between them isonly equal to the diameter of the wire. When the zig zag wire is betweenthe two plates P and e and the fingers for holding the bend are thrustbetween two or more loops of the zig zag wire the bends will be securelyheld and distortion arising from the force required to make the bendswill be prevented. The fingers Q for holding the bends in the wires areattached to a sliding bar R. The bar R is pivotally connected to the armR which in turn is pivoted at its opposite end to the standard R and thestandard R is attached to the bed plate B. The arm R is forced in anoutward direction by the spring R and is forced in again at properintervals by a cam R on the shaft D, which bears against the arm R asshown in Fig. 2.

K, Fig. 2, is a sprocket wheel on the end of the shaft K, and by meansof the sprocket chain K transmits motion to the disks S, and S, by whichi the wires are force fed into the machine from suitable reels X asshown in Fig. 1. As any of the well known constructions for forcefeeding wire may be used for this purpose, an extended description ofthe device as shown in the drawings is not deemed necessary. After thezig zag pattern has been formed, the next step is to bend itaround thecentral strand. To accomplish this the wheels T, and T, each having anoscillating movement, but in opposite directions, are employed. Theaxles T and T on which these oscillating drums are mounted, are hollowedout centrally to allow the passage of the wires X and X through them.The openings through the axles conform to the shape of the wires; thatis, the upper opening is oblong in cross section to allow free passageof the ornamental wire X without distorting the zigzag bends in it, andthe lower opening is round for the main wire X, and is midway betweenthe ends of the upper opening to insure the proper relative position ofthe wires, and communicates with the upper oblong opening. The upper andlower wires are formed into one strand by bending the zig zag points ofthe ornamental strand first over and then under the central wire. Thisis accomplished by the dogs 15 and 25 (see Figs. 1, 2, and 12) which arepivotally secured to the adjacent faces of the drums T and Trespectively within recesses formed for that purpose on the contactingsides of the drums. These dogs are so placed that their free ends willengage the loops or points of the ornamental wire on each side of thecentral strand and by theoscillating move ment of the drums twist thepoints around the stationary wire. The ends of the dogs are slightlyhooked to enable them the more readily to engage the points of the zigzag wire, and suitable springs are provided to press the ends into closecontact with the points. (See Fig. 12.) After the first twobends aremade the wires will assume a uniform position, but in making the firstbend, one of the points will be on top and the other below the centralwire. This fact makes it necessary to change the opening in the axle Tto allow the free egress of the first bend and then to resume theoriginal shape of the outlet. This necessitates the construction shownin Fig. 10, in which the section U is hinged on a horizontal pin, a, toallow the part U to be thrown up, thus leaving an unobstructed outletshaped as shown in Fig. 11, which allows the first loop to pass, afterwhich the section U is thrown down and locked by the horizontal pivotedwedge U which is thrown around on top of the section U. Au oscillatingmovement is transmitted to the wheels T and T, by the sprocket chains Vand V in the manner as follows:- -One end of the chain V, is attached tothe lever Land the chain passed thence upwardly and over the wheel T,and thence downwardly past the lever I, and the other end is secured tothe lever N. A similar sprocket chain V passes in like manner over thedrum T, and like the chain V, is secured, one end to the lever I and theother to the lever W', but with this difference in the arrangement, thatinstead of corresponding ends being fastened to the same levers, thearrangement is reversed in order to give the wheel T a movement in theopposite direction. The lever XV, is pivoted at one end to the frameworkof the machine and is joined to the lever I by the connecting rod V. Theconnecting rod W, is pivoted at its upper end to the lever I, and at itslower end to the lever WV, but is connected with the two levers atpoints on opposite sides of their fulcrums in order to secure theirsimultaneous movement in opposite directions, and give the propermovement to the sprocket chains which turn the wheels T and T.

After the bend is formed in the wire and the pins G and G have beenforced up by the lower pins M the head carrying the pins G and G willswing back automatically to its first position, but to do this and alsoallow the newly bent wire to move forward through the machine it isnecessary to retain the pin G in its raised position. This is done byextending the pin entirely through the head and forming a collar g onits upper extension and providing a foot G actuated by a spring thatwill force the foot under the collar in the position as shown in Fig. 6,when the pin G is raised and hold it up until the foot is thrown out bythe stop G on the plate e. The lower pin that elevates the pin G, dropsback at once into the roller, but the one that raises the pin G will beneeded to assist in forming the next bend and is therefore retained inits elevated position by a stationary finger Y, (see Fig. 3) whichprojects into the groove and forms a stop. This pin M is released by thecontinued revolution of the roller and by virtue of its own weight willdrop back into the roller. In case pins M fail to drop back into placepromptly they will be forced in by contact with the gradually slopingface N of the casing. The pins M correspond in position with the bendsin the zigzag wire, and for that reason the position of the pins in thetwo series instead of being on the same radial line are made toalternate.

The construction of the bifurcated lever O in which the arms are inseparate pieces secured to a main body portion by bolts, is adopted inorder that the arms may be adjusted independently.

I claim- 1. In a machine for making ornamental wire, an oscillating headprovided with fin-.

gers for engaging the wire and bending it into a zigzag pattern, incombination with intermittently operating mechanism for disen- I gagingthe fingers fromthe wire after the bend is made, mechanism for actuatingsaid oscillating head, and a slide provided with fingers,

and plates for holding the bends in the wire after they have been formedby the fingers of the oscillatinghead,substantiallyas described.

2. In a machine for manufacturing ornamental wire, the combination withan oscillating head provided with fingers for engaging the wire andbending it into zigzag loops, of a slide R having fingers Q, and platesP and e for holding the bends in the wire after they have been formed bythe fingers of the oscillating head: intermittently operating mechanismfor disengaging the fingers of the head from the wire ;the oppositelyoscillating drums T and T, through which the zigzag ornamental strand,and'thecent-ral strand are fed; dogs to engage the zigzag wire and bendit around the central strand; and mechanism for connecting and actuatingsaid oscillating head and its fingers,su bstantially as described.

3. In a machine for bending wire, previously formed into a zigzagpattern, around a central strand, the oppositely rotating wheels T and Tprovided with central transverse openings through which the wires arefed, and having dogs pivotally secured to the wheels and adapted toengage the zigzag wire, and by the movement of the wheels bend said wirearound the central strand, in combination with connecting and actuatingmechanism, substantially as described.

4. The combination with the oscillating head and its fingers, and withthe oppositely rotating drums, and their spring dogs,of the levers I andW, connected by a rod WV, and sprocket connections between said leversand drums, substantially as described.

5. The combination with the oscillating head and its fingers, of asliding bar R pro vided with fingers Q; a pivoted arm R to which saidsliding bar is pivotally secured, anda spring R and cam R for operatingsaid arm, and sliding bar, substantially as described.

6. The combination with the oscillating head and its fingers, of theslide R and its fingers Q; the oppositely rotating drums T and T; andspring dogs pivotally secured to said drums, and slightly hooked attheir free ends, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS KOSS.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH A. MINTURN, FRED S. KNODLE.

